Syracuse, NY -- Junior Phillip Thomas apparently will be the starting free safety Thursday night when Syracuse University opens its 2011 football season in the Carrier Dome.

Cornerback Keon Lyn will not start.

The team’s new punter is junior walk-on Shane Raupers, a former scholarship player who rejoined the team this year. And the new starter at nose tackle will be junior Deon Goggins, who earned the job a week ago with his performance in the team’s annual Ernie Davis Scrimmage.

Injuries haven’t altered the starting lineups too much for the Orange season opener against Wake Forest at 8 p.m. Thursday. But the two-deep position chart released today by Orange head coach Doug Marrone did contain some surprises and a few areas of concern heading into the season.

Thomas, who missed most of preseason camp after suffering a fractured jaw in practice Aug. 7, is back on the field, Marrone said. So is Lyn, who was the starting field-side cornerback until going down with a shoulder injury during a practice drill Aug. 12.

Both are “ready to go,” Marrone said during his first game-week news conference of the season.

But while Thomas is listed as a starter ahead of sophomore Jeremi Wilkes, Lyn is listed behind sophomore Ri’Shard Anderson, who was battling redshirt senior Kevyn Scott for the other cornerback position when Lyn was injured.

Goggins, a 6-foot-1, 280-pound junior college transfer from California, apparently grabbed the starting job from junior Cory Boatman with a strong performance Aug. 20 in the team’s final preseason scrimmage.

“It’s almost like, that’s where the light came on. And you hope it stays on,” Marrone said of Goggins, who sat out last year and still has two years of eligibility remaining. “We needed him to step up. But we’ll have a lot of people playing in that position until someone emerges.”

Boatman now moves to defensive tackle behind starter Jay Bromley, a sophomore, and true freshman Eric Crume (6-0, 330) will back up Goggins. Although only two players are listed at each position on the depth chart for the Wake Forest game, Marrone said redshirt senior Ollie Haney and second-year freshman Robert Welsh will also be in the mix at nose tackle.

Crume is one of five true freshmen (and a walk-on) to earn spots as offensive or defensive backups.

Head injuries to offensive linemen Nick Lepak and Ian Allport have left true freshmen Rob Trudo and Ivan Foy as backups at center and right guard, respectively.

Lepak, a senior, and Allport, a junior, each were in the mix as backups to sophomore Macky MacPherson at center, and Lepak was listed on the preseason depth chart as the backup to redshirt senior Andrew Tiller at right guard.

Marrone said Lepak is back at practice but isn’t ready to play yet. Allport is still out. Both suffered concussions early in the preseason.

A season-ending injury to second-year freshman tackle Sean Hicky, and leg injuries to junior guard Jarel Lowery and freshman tackle Kristofer Curtis, have made the offensive line a real puzzle for Marrone so far.

Other true freshmen on the depth chart are linebacker Cameron Lynch, behind junior Dan Vaughan at the strong-side, and Brandon Reddish, behind Scott at cornerback.

Linebacker Dom Anene, a 6-1, 224-pound junior from Redlands, Calif., made the team last season as a walk-on and is listed as the backup behind freshman Dyshawn Davis at the weak-side position.

“I think right now we’d feel very comfortable with him going into a game,” Marone said of Anene, who apparently jumped ahead of sophomore Lewellyn Coker.

Marrone said the fact that Anene is a walk-on shouldn’t be that significant.

“We’re just happy with him,” the coach said. “Everyone gets treated the same way in this program. If you’re the best player, you’re going to play.”

In one of the closest position battles he’s seen, Marrone said Raupers has edged true freshman Jonathan Fisher for the punting job vacated by Rob Long. Marrone said the two were virtually even in their performance, but Raupers, who came to SU in 2009 on scholarship but left the team after a few days, got the nod.